A small but growing literature examines the contribution of colleges, universities, and the higher education system itself to ongoing inequities experienced by college students from marginalized backgrounds. In particular, although institutional culture is an essential factor in the success of institutional change efforts, few studies have examined its influence in higher education contexts. This qualitative study addresses this gap, making an important practical and theoretical contribution by exploring the ways in which institutional practice and culture influence implementation in three institutions of varying status (high-, medium-, and low-) of a system-wide diversity policy. This research is grounded in a Bourdieuian analysis of social power and draws on critical policy studies to investigate the documented link between institutional culture and institutional change, through the theoretical lens of "institutional habitus." As a multisite vertical case study, this analysis draws on archival records, institutional documents, observations and interviews with administrators, staff and faculty to examine the ways a stratified purposeful sample of three institutions interpreted, developed and implemented "Excellence for All," as well as the factors that influenced institutional decision-making and action related to the policy. Findings indicate significant differences in policy implementation across the campuses with only the middle-status campus leveraging the policy to pursue racial equity for its students. Rather than individual accomplishments or failures, however, these outcomes reflect the extent to which the policy mapped onto existing campus pressures, priorities, and habitual ways of being. Ultimately, this study reveals that the interaction of institutional identity, social status, and policy framings significantly structure policy implementation. By challenging the notion that higher education institutions are disinterested entities and offering a methodology for studying the influence of institutional culture across institutional status, the present study has implications for research, practice and theory related to organizational studies, institutional culture, and critical practice and policy analysis in higher education spaces. The findings from this research underscore the importance of qualitative investigations of institutional change efforts, and the need to attend to the intersection of social status and power, institutional culture, and policy goals in the pursuit of transformational change toward racial equity in higher education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]